What platform to buy crypto currencies through?

vertex

Hi all,

Im looking to have a play with cryto currencies. Nothing serious, just a bit of play money.

Im looking for a decent platform to buy through. (reliable, cheap trading, hopefully not going to go bust overnight).

Can anyone recommend any? Do they usually charge a commission, or a dealing charge? Perhaps theres a fund I can invest in which diversifies across many different crypto currencies?

Thanks

anxiousnow

Coinbase has higher fees than some but is easy to use (I found so as a first timer) and you can choose which types you invest in. There's a referral thread on here for Coinbase too.

indierocker85

I was a bit wary of signing up to some of them, so I did mine via Skrill, which I already use for other stuff. The fees are probably higher, but I trust them. 

vertex

Interestingly I see the FCA banned companies from selling crypto. Hence why Hargeraves no longer offers the fund.
Ive looked at Coinbase and Blockchains charging structure, but Im none the wiser. (Im hardly the sharpest spoon in the drawer). If I invested £100 per month, what would they charge? Do they charge for both buying AND selling? Does each currency have their own fee?
I remember when I was new at investing. I invested £20 into a company. Only after Id done that was I aware that Hargreaves charged a £15 dealing fee. 

Speedster2

I was in your position a month or so ago @vertex , I coincidentally saw an article on Coindesk about Revolut, the fintech ‘bank’ that you access through an app. Opening an account was straightforward and the simplicity and clarity of crypto currency transactions is very good. I can do an instant transfer from my First Direct current account and usually see it straight away so can use it for crypto transactions.
I’m hearing some negativity on here about customer service with Revolut but as I haven’t needed to put it to the test I’ve no personal experience of it yet.

kuratowski

vertex said:

Interestingly I see the FCA banned companies from selling crypto. Hence why Hargeraves no longer offers the fund.

I thought that only sales of derivatives on cryptocurrencies were banned, not cryptocurrencies themselves.  And only for retail investors (i.e. professional investors are still allowed to buy).  But yes this means most people can no longer buy the Bitcoin ETN which was formerly available on HL / AJBell.

As I understand it (bearing in mind I am just mildly curious and not following closely) there was a Bitcoin ETF launched in Canada recently, however I couldn't see anyway to buy it from the UK platforms.  Yet?

underground99

kuratowski said:

vertex said:

Interestingly I see the FCA banned companies from selling crypto. Hence why Hargeraves no longer offers the fund.

I thought that only sales of derivatives on cryptocurrencies were banned, not cryptocurrencies themselves.  And only for retail investors (i.e. professional investors are still allowed to buy).  But yes this means most people can no longer buy the Bitcoin ETN which was formerly available on HL / AJBell.

Yes that's correct - the ETNs which were previously available are no longer available to buy by retail clients. I still have a holding in my AJ Bell SIPP but can only sell rather than buy any further units. 

An ETN is essentially a tradeable loan note secured on Bitcoins which will be paid back by reference to bitcoin value and so is a derivative, so FCA do not allow it to be sold to retail customers under their rules from early this year.

As I understand it (bearing in mind I am just mildly curious and not following closely) there was a Bitcoin ETF launched in Canada recently, however I couldn't see anyway to buy it from the UK platforms.  Yet?

ETFs are technically different from ETNs and potentially the FCA would be OK with you holding an equity interest in an ETF which happened to invest in some bitcoins. However, niche Canadian or US ETFs are unlikely to produce the relevant UK/EU standard prospectus and KIID which would be required for them to be sold to retail customers over here, so reputable UK platforms wouldn't offer them.  Potentially you might be able to get access via a foreign financial institution that didn't carry out the appropriate checks. However, it's unlikely that a niche Canadian or US ETF which is not marketing to European retail customers would bother to register itself as a reporting fund under the UK offshore funds regime with HMRC and so there is a risk that your gains from the fund could be taxed as 'income', which would be most unwelcome.

Aceace

Speedster2 said:

I was in your position a month or so ago @vertex , I coincidentally saw an article on Coindesk about Revolut, the fintech ‘bank’ that you access through an app. Opening an account was straightforward and the simplicity and clarity of crypto currency transactions is very good. I can do an instant transfer from my First Direct current account and usually see it straight away so can use it for crypto transactions.
I’m hearing some negativity on here about customer service with Revolut but as I haven’t needed to put it to the test I’ve no personal experience of it yet.

Revolut is a simple, but very expensive way to buy crypto. Also, you can't take your purchased crypto off their platform unless you subscribe to their Metal plan at £12.99 per month. See here https://quickpenguin.net/revolut-cryptocurrency/ for a review. 

Speedster2

The long version of the quickpenguin article is excellent. I was aware I was going to be stiffed on their 2.5% fees, and as I’m only playing with small numbers here in order to learn it isn’t too late to exchange back to GBP and cash out with a profit intact still. I wasn’t thinking of going to their paid account for now and thanks to that article I have some good alternatives to explore. Learning has taken place!

Atlas234

I started off on coinbase, which is definatley the most user friendly for a new comer, then moved onto binance as there is more selection there once you know what you are doing. They are the two biggest and only two I use, but there are alot of others

Adyinvestment

vertex said:

Can anyone recommend any? Do they usually charge a commission, or a dealing charge? Perhaps theres a fund I can invest in which diversifies across many different crypto currencies?

Thanks

There is a Crypto Portfolio Market Cap (CFD) on eTorro which I like, it tracks all the top Crypto's by market cap so takes away the worry of picking the wrong one.

Has averaged around 10% profit a week this year which is pretty insane but does highlight how much money is being poured into the Crypto market.